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Friday, November 30, 2012

If you have at all been following my preparations for heading out to the mission field, you might have heard me toss around the phrase “care team” at some point. I wanted to take this post to share with you what a Care Team is and, should you feel led, how you can be a part of it.

~Being a Spear~

First, imagine a spearhead. In places such as Africa, this spear can be a matter of life and death. When hunting, the tip of the spear is what will ultimately kill your prey. But, without the long stick and guiding tail that it is connected to, the head of the spear is nothing but a spear-shaped object held in the palm of your hand. You don’t just need the spearhead, you need the entire spear.

This is the same for a missionary. A person heading out onto the mission field is nothing without the support of those back at home. In so many ways, the “senders” (you!) are just as important as the missionary on the front-lines of overseas ministry. You are the body that connects the spearhead to the tail end that will guide the spear right to its target.

~Being a Team~

A Care Team is a group of people that commit to coming up alongside the ministry of a missionary as he/she/they are sent out to their mission field. Their commitments can come in the form of so many things: whether it is simply committing to pray, send an email, donate financially, or help with logistics, each part of the team is equally important-and equally necessary.

In Exodus 17:10-16, the Israelites are led into battle by Joshua and Moses is told by the Lord to hold his rod above his head for the duration of the battle. As long as the rod is above his head, they will win the battle. Eventually, it gets too heavy a burden to bear and as it dips below his head, the battle begins to turn. However, Aaron and Hur, standing alongside Moses as he obeys this command, come up next to him and hold his arms for him, that he would be able to fulfill his mission for the Lord.

I will be heading onto the mission field this coming March to obey the Lord’s calling in my life. But, I can’t do it without a team committed to holding my arms above my head as I bear my proverbial rod in this battle.

~Being My Team~

Will you be a part of that team? Could you stand alongside me as I head onto the mission field? If so, there are 5 different ways you can be a part of my team. Please read a short description of each below and then fill out the questionnaire attached at the end of this blog post.

Moral Support Team (encouragement): You could be on the other side of the world and your words of encouragement and support will still be heard, felt, and welcomed. When I leave to Scotland, it’s true that I will eventually build new relationships and enjoy the fellowship of believers present around me. But, it’s you guys: my friends and family on my Moral Support Team, who will commit to emailing me encouraging verses, ask me questions of how I am doing, and continually point me to the Lord. You know me and can encourage me in those times I am home sick or simply need to hear from someone familiar.

Being a part of the Moral Support Team looks like:

·Write letters, send text messages, or email

·Personal Skype meetings

·Care packages

·Personal visits

·Share personal news, or other things going on around you in your life.

Prayer Support Team: Prayer is the glue to any ministry. Bringing our eyes back to Jesus Christ, the One we serve and the One we point others to for salvation. Without the consistent sweet fragrance of a Prayer Support Team, my labors would be done in vain. This is such a necessary and integral part of any ministry. Your commitment to praying for me daily is probably the single most important part of a care team.

Being a part of the Prayer Support Team looks like:

·Receiving prayer emails

·Daily prayer

·Attending SENT weekly prayers at Shoreline

·Follow up on prayer requests

Logistical Support Team: Planning, moving, settling, and even communicating with a care team while on the mission field can be overwhelming without someone to help keep it all on track. Even I, myself: someone who enjoys organizing and planning, will be completely relying on my Logistical Support Team to help make sure I have all those details in place: before I leave and after.

Being a part of the Logistical Support Team looks like:

·Help with organization and tracking of care team members

·Available to help with paper work

·Sending off details

·Sending care packages

·Help organize fundraisers and care team meetings.

Re-Entry Support Team: Knowing that my home church and family are here in America, I plan on making consistent furlough trips back here to visit. This will include spending time with my family and care team members, meeting new friends, and catching up with old friends. Having people to help with those sort of plans, as well as emotionally supporting the transition, are a welcome blessing to any missionary.

Being a part of the Re-Entry Support Team looks like:

·Help find a place to stay while on furlough.

·Organize update gatherings to share about ministry.

·Be available for a chat over coffee, dinner, or other such fellowship time.

Financial Support Team: Whether by one time gifts or committing to making a monthly donation, you will be helping support my trip financially. Heading over to Scotland on a Religious Workers Visa, I am unable to get a job in the United Kingdom. By being on my Financial Support Team, your donation, is allowing me to stay in the UK and share Jesus with these people, unhindered from having to raise a full annual amount before I leave to the mission field.

Being a part of the Financial Support Team looks like:

·Monthly or One-Time Donations can be made through Shepherd’s Staff Mission Facilitators. You can follow this link (Shepherd’s Staff: Bennett, E) to make an online donation, write and mail a check, or fill out an EFT form to set up monthly donations. My missionary number (to be put on all donations) is 1061. All donations are tax-deductible.

Thursday, November 15, 2012

It has been a while since I first shared that I was going to Scotland and, even though many of you have asked questions and received answers, I’m sure there are many who aren’t in my day-to-day life who also are wondering how things are going. I’d like to take some time to answer those questions now. (If you still have questions after reading these answers, feel free to leave them in the comments and I will write a follow-up blog!)

1: So, why Scotland? Yes, Scotland. If you haven’t read my testimony, start here, then read the subsequent blog posts for the rest of the story. Scotland has been my heart-country for over 10 years. What is a heart-country? It’s a country/place/group of people that lives in your heart for no obviously apparent reason. It is a dream that sits, grows, and becomes a part of you. It is a cry that cannot be quenched but for the Holy Spirit and His peace. So, yes, Scotland. (And, yes, I made up the term heart-country but I know some of you can relate!) Also, please take the time to watch this video,it is quite an accurate portrayal of why the Lord has called me to Scotland.

2. When are you leaving and how long will you be there? I am set to leave in the middle of March, 2013 (for those of you calculating, that’s exactly 4 months from today). I am going to apply for a religious workers visa, which means that I will be able to be there for 1-2 years (please pray I am accepted for two years), then I will have to come back and renew my visa. I plan on living there indefinitely; that is, until the Lord tells me to go somewhere else.

3. Where exactly are you going? I will be going to a town called Motherwell and serving with the church family there at Calvary Motherwell. Motherwell is approximately 15 miles Southeast of Glasgow. If you have no clue as to where Glasgow is, I can help: it’s in Scotland. =D (no but really, check out the Motherwell link above, it’s a map).

4. What are you going to be doing while you are over there? Great question! The best, most accurate answer I can give you is: intern. This translates into: wherever a door is open and the Lord takes me. I have a huge heart for the youth. I enjoy planning fellowship events that bring the body closer together. I love children and their innocent joy. I love doing street ministry, even when it is hard and terrifying. I find joy in filling papers and organizational administrative duties. So…truly, I will be blessed to fill in whatever gap there is, regardless of the title.

5. How can I be involved? So many ways. I am such a people person. Please, interact with me. Ask me questions. Hard questions. Spend time with me before I leave. Send me an email. Pray for me. Pray for Scotland. Pray that the Lord would be glorified in every step I take from here to March 2013, and beyond.

You are all such a huge part of this step in my life. Thank you for wanting to be involved. Thank you for reading this and caring for me. Thank you for being a part of my life, testimony, and adventure.

If you want to be on my email updates, please email me at erikamarie82@gmail.com. I am also currently organizing a care team: a group of people who will commit to pray for me, encourage me, help with logistics stay in contact with me, and support me. If you want to know more about how to be a part of my care team (or what a care team is), let me know in your email as well and I will get that information to you.

Sometimes, I forget I have a blog and, thus, it gets neglected.. Other times, I remember and can’t comprehend adding another task to my already busy schedule and, so, it again is neglected. Still more times, I remember I have a blog and can’t figure out how to put into words the things the Lord is showing me in a way that will bring the most glory to Him.

Sometimes, when I remember I have a blog, and want to write something – and even have something to write about – my vanity gets the worst of me. It’s these times that I ignore the nudging of the Holy Spirit and curl into the ‘comfort’ of Self.

I can’t write well. I can’t be witty. No one will read it. I don’t have pictures to accompany my musings. What I say isn’t really worth it, or necessary, or as edifying as it can be. …And that is where I sit. Alone with myself and unwilling to rebuke the selfish spirit that has wedged its way into my heart.

But then the worst times? Those are the times that I am prompted to share with you all something amazing…and I do. I stop and take time to write out my thoughts, my encouragements, my exhortations. I weave silly jokes into it, use a few metaphors, add pretty fluff…until it comes out completely wrapped in a shell of flesh. One that is so convincing on the surface, yet all honor and glory meant for the Lord are stopped with that shield of pride.

Those times are the worst.

Hello, me. Thank you for making your presence known. Now I can call you out from your dark hiding place and send you on your way. You’re not wanted here, please leave.

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So when you read something on here that doesn’t quite line up with the Word of God, call it out.

When you see something on here that honors me before the Lord, speak up.

When you don’t see something on here and wonder where I’ve gone, pray and praise the Lord, for it is in those times His Spirit keeps my flesh from speaking out.

And when something brings your face, thoughts, eyes, and heart towards the Lord…and when you are encouraged, comforted, exhorted, or just left in awe of Him…

He’s the only one that needs to know about it. Because He’s the one that wants to sit and spend time with you anyways. And He’s the one that I care about honoring and pointing to.